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Being in the field of journalism and social activities for more than 30 years I realised that there are so many pro-people rules and regulation available for common citizens. However, the lawbreakers put a lot of obstacles in the implementation of these rules and regulation. Be it The Right to Information Act, The Real estate act or Right to Services Act. Most of the citizens also don’t know or don’t dare to use these regulations. The basic object of this portal is to help people to help themselves.

Latest news!

New amendments to Anti-Corruption law make bribery hard to report!

Recently Government of India passed amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act. These amendments not only have diluted the act but have given blanket protection to central government servants from any action under this act.

No doubt they have been welcomed by bankers and central government officers’ associations.

Last month, when Ravindra Marathe, CEO of Bank of Maharashtra, was arrested in DSK scam, bank employees and officers made agitation all over India. Their main objection was the arrest was made without prior permission of higher authorities.

The latest amendment proves that when Marathe was arrested there was no provision of prior permission.

Earlier government had given such protection to the public servants above Joint Secretary level.

However, Supreme Court of India in a civil writ petition 38 of 1997 (Dr Subramanian Swamy vs Director, CBI & ANR) and other cases on 14 may 2014 held that:

“Section 6- A(1), which requires approval of the Central Government to conduct any inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed under the PC Act, 1988 where such allegation relates to (a) the employees of the Central Government of the level of Joint Secretary and above and (b) such officers as are appointed by the Central Government in corporations established by or under any Central Act, government companies, societies and local authorities owned or controlled by the Government, is invalid and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. As a necessary corollary, the provision contained in Section 26 (c) of the Act 45 of 2003 to that extent is also declared invalid.”

Thus it is clear, that police didn’t require any prior approval before arresting of the employees of the Central Government of the level of Joint Secretary and above.

However, struck with Marathe’s arrest and without taking into consideration the essence of Supreme Court judgement, Government has given blanket protection to all the central government servants.

As per new amendments bribe-givers also can be punished with imprisonment for up to seven years, a fine or both and has removed the provision which protected a bribe-giver from prosecution for statements made by him/her during corruption trials.

The amendments provide protection to 'coerced' (forced to pay a bribe) bribe-givers if the matter is reported to the concerned law enforcement agencies within a week.

This is something fishy once there is a provision of imprisonment for giving bribe then who will come forward to report coercion? Instead, provision of automatic attraction of coercion in case of delay in discharge of official duties would have made this law strong.

According to new amendments, the trial in cases pertaining to the exchange of bribe and corruption should be completed within two years. Further, even after reasoned delays, the trial cannot exceed four years.

In a nutshell, new amendments have made bribery hard to report, thanks to the government’s zero tolerance for corruption!

Latest video!

Right to Information activists blackmail, complain PMC officers, they also admit giving lakhs of rupees to them. In that case how much did this officers earn through illegal means . They should come clean on that also and put all the informa​tion in public domain